LONDON: A man and woman have been charged with attempting to import cocaine into the UK hidden inside tins of powdered chocolate, said a National Crime Agency (NCA) spokesman.
Aaron Cope, 31, and Joanne Dangerfield, 40, both from Lea Hall, Birmingham, were arrested at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal on January 28, after Border Force officers seized about five kilos of the class A drug hidden inside tin cans in checked-in luggage.
The pair were interviewed by officers from the NCA and bailed pending further enquiries.
They were re-arrested by the NCA on Tuesday February 23 and charged with importing a class A drug.
Both were due to appear before Birmingham magistrates today (Wednesday February 24).
Mark Rutterford, from the NCA’s Gatwick border investigation team, said: “The drugs seized here would have had a wholesale value of around £200,000 – but if cut, adulterated and sold on the streets of the UK they are likely to have been worth far more. I’ve no doubt that is where this stash would have ended up.
“Our investigation continues.”
